History Crafters
Linda poses with a display of sample printed work.
For the past 20 years, Linda Coffin has been working out of one Seward home or another. Her work as a graphic designer for publications, though, could not continue to sustain her interest. “After a while,” Linda said, “it all started to look the same; I got bored.” In 2004, her quest for something more captivating
led Linda to Baltimore, where the annual conference for the Association of Personal Historians takes place. She fell in love with a new career: helping people document their personal history.
A personal history is something that any individual or group—family, church, community or even ethnic group—that has a story to tell can create. Because of Linda’s background, she focuses mainly on print outlets for facilitating the documentation of these stories. The scope of her work depends on what the client is looking for. She does interviews and transcribes, she takes letters or diaries and turns them into a narrative, she studies genealogical material and turns that into a narrative as well, and she even records the stories of family heirlooms. Whatever it is a client wants to document, Linda will use the information available to make it into a story.
Aside from the interesting methods of obtaining somewhat ancient information
(after our interview Linda was off to a cemetery to take pictures of headstones), the best part about her job is that the work is truly meaningful.
More often than not Linda’s clients are in tears when she presents them with their final product. For most, this is a chance to pass along the humanity of the people they love for future generations to enjoy.
This is a job Linda will never retire from. With age, she says, her skills will only improve. Plus, she told me, there is no need to retire from something that adds immeasurable value to your own life and the lives of others.